Women and People of Color Lacking Among Radio Owners Posted by Bob at 06/05/07 11:45 AM

Women and people of color are grossly underrepresented among the owners of America's radio stations, in no small part because of the wave of consolidation that has swept through the industry in recent years.

So says a landmark study out today from the good folks at Free Press called Off the Dial. You can read the whole study by clicking here (PDF).

The first comprehensive analysis of radio station ownership, Off the Dial finds that while women and people of color make up two-thirds of the population, they control just one-eighth of the country’s full-power radio stations. The study argues that pro-consolidation policies have prevented women and people of color to owning more radio stations.

"Consolidation continues to push out female and minority owners and raise insurmountable barriers that shut out prospective buyers,” said S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press and author of the study. "Any FCC policies aimed at promoting media diversity are doomed to fail if the destructive impact of consolidation is ignored."

The head of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Wade Henderson, says the study points up a critical issue that has been largely ignored by the broadcasting industry and the government.

"Diversity in communications is the civil rights issue of the 21st century -- one that our nation has yet to take seriously," said Henderson. “Minorities and women are not just consumers -- they have the right and the obligation to be stewards in our nation’s communications. It is long past time for the FCC to act and reverse this problem."

Off the Dial follows Out of the Picture, an analysis of broadcast television stations released last year, which found similarly low levels of female and minority ownership.

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